Sound Barrier

A Glendale hotel and the bar across the street could have made such beautiful music together.

Comments (0) By Tony Perez-Giese Thursday, Nov 12 1998

Machamer refuses to comment on the problems between her hotel and Jimmy's. But attorney Toll says Jimmy's still isn't complying with the state law, regardless of whether the Glendale police take action.

"Jimmy's has argued that the decibel problem is the result of ambient noise," says Toll, "but the only ambient noise that's a factor is from traffic leaving the bar. All you have to do is go over there on a weekend, and it becomes painfully obvious that ambient noise isn't the problem. Besides, guests don't complain about traffic noise. No one has ever said that Jimmy's Grille is fine and that the street noise is keeping them awake."

But the dispute is keeping the Glendale police awake. Sargent Ross says that despite the restraining order, his department still receives complaints from the hotel. "We've just got to ride the fence on it as long as it stays out of the criminal realm," explains Ross. "As long as Jimmy's isn't sending bouncers over to rough up Homestead Village customers or Homestead Village isn't going over and smashing Jimmy's equipment, we'll let it remain in the realm of the civil courts."

Mayor Joe Rice, who's had his share of controversy, is also staying out of this. "As far as this dispute goes," says Rice, "the city isn't in the marriage-counseling business. My attitude is, 'Didn't you see the bar across the street when you picked this spot?'